CEU redefines its student-university relationship in collaboration with Microsoft

Together with ENCAMINA, the University is developing a Microsoft, Azure and Office 365 cloud-based bot to improve student interactions.

University CEU Cardenal Herrera is implementing, in collaboration with technology-based company ENCAMINA, a new cloud bot-service powered by Microsoft and its serverless solutions Azure and Office 365. The main objective of this project is to improve in the medium term the interaction and existing relationship with its local and international students.

As Iñaki Bilbao – Vice Rector for International Relations at CEU Valencia states, the aim is that this bot-service “can work as a virtual assistant for both teachers and students, helping them in their learning process and offering them 24/7 support”. “When unable to provide the information required, we will always forward the enquiry to a teacher”, he adds.

The University’s objective is to provide students with a one-stop contact method where they can address their information requests or even resolve issues using their own channels and language, avoiding the use of new apps.

José Luis Roig, Head of IT for the San Pablo CEU University Foundation, has explained that “of all the different options available on the market, we favoured the one by Microsoft and ENCAMINA because of the deployment of technology it presented and also because it offered an easy integration with our current services. In fact, we currently use a cloud-based CRM and all of our Office 365 services are powered by Azure”.

Azure, a key element for an easy implementation

Implementing Microsoft Azure in CEU was possible through ENCAMINA and the scaling possibilities offered by this cloud-based platform. As Alberto Díaz – CTIO of ENCAMINA explains, “the number of students at CEU is high and also the number of eventual students that we can assist through the bot; that is why we need a solution allowing us to scale and manage that volume in the easiest possible way”.

This bot, powered by Azure, will access the students’, teachers’ and staff members’ profiles on Office 365 to determine if students are local or international. It will also identify other relevant personal data to easily generate tailor-made orders or book appointments with teachers.

In short, with this first version the University is currently developing, “the aim is that the bot will become progressively proactive, making it possible to predict and assist students, helping them achieve goals that they may have left aside”, declares Roig.

About ENCAMINA and Microsoft

ENCAMINA is a Technology Consulting firm with over 16 years of experience in ICT. Its mission, as they explain, “is to digitally transform medium-sized and large companies with collaborative, business intelligence solutions through the best available technology by Microsoft. Its differentiating factor is ‘thinking in colours” with a fresh, optimistic and committed attitude made possible through marketing, innovation and talent”.

Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) is the world-leading company in mobile-first, cloud-first platforms and its mission is “to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more”.